Development of Apocálypsis

This article is about the events that led up to the RP we know today as Apocálypsis. Cxero has hosted a few different types of RPs in the past. The most important ones were DEADON, an Apocalyptic RP series (see below), and XZODUS, a Cyberpunk Sci-Fi RP, both important in the genesis of this game.

XZODUS
XZODUS was one of Cxero's main RPs. It included many elements to later be included in Apocálypsis and the later Sci-Fi RP such as cyberpunk themes, augmentations, crime, real cities, and real conspiracy theories. It had two installments. The first took place in a Russian city named Maloye Uvarovo and the second one took place in Gheorgheni, Romania. It ostensibly took place after the events of DEADON 14.

DEADON 15
Prior to the conception of Apocálypsis being starting development, Cxero hosted a completely different RP, which was the 15th installment of his long-running RP series, DEADON, which is always spelled with in caps. It took place in a post-apocalyptic world highly reminiscent of the original Fallout complete with many NPCs and several different locations. Notably, hostile NPCs appeared around certain map areas to antagonize players. While highly open-world, it differed in that each "location" was completely self-contained complete with its own borders and lacked vehicles. Different locations were accessed by leaving the map boundaries and entering a world map, which was another element from Fallout. This RP set up the foundations for Apocálypsis in that it had a currency system, shops, real-life locations, and highly interactive NPCs to faciliate solo roleplaying, and was originally intended to loosely follow a main plot. However, the concept of a main plot was very loosely explored before it was shut down. An earlier (and younger) version of Zeliq Austerlitz served as Cxero's primary character.

Unnamed Unfinished Sci-Fi RP
Original Concept Cxero, inspired by games such as Grand Theft Auto and Deus Ex, sought to make a large, vehicle-based cyberpunk role-playing game. It was to share many elements in common with DEADON such as the money system and hostile NPCs appearing on the map. Starting off by recreating the land around a Virginian Campsite in George Washington National Forest, he built a relatively small, wooded RP area. This RP shared many story elements with Apocálypsis such as being revolved around a second American Revolution and government conspiracies. It was meant to take place after DEADON 15 and was set in hilly, rural area with an air force base. It was intended to be slowly expanded to include more locations, including urban ones.

Second Revision
The conspiracy elements were eventually downplayed and the rebellion plot was removed completely in favor of centering it around an alien invasion. It was to have six major species, each of which primarily belonging to one of three major factions.

Apocálypsis
Early Genesis

Apocálypsis went through a long development cycle starting in late 2014. From the start it was envisioned as a grand role-playing game that would truly capture the free-roaming elements of Grand Theft Auto by taking place in a large city, Minneapolis. It was to revisit the idea of a plot centered around a new American revolution. It did not receive the title of "Apocálypsis" until much later, originally using "Asphyxiation" during development and later "Pax Americana" (which now simply refers to the first chapter). The plot was intended to be quite similar, although the ending was different. Rather than in the final game which featured a showdown at Denhoff Missile Base, a full-scale Canadian invasion was going to be attempted on Minnesota in an attempt to wrestle it away during the turmoil. Players would be able to influence the ending by either killing a prominent Canadian character to stop the invasion and restore control to the U.S., to kill Ambrose Bul and allow the Canadian Government to take full control, or killing them both and establising Minnesota as an independant state. The RP was successfully started and even had its own wiki, but was quickly cancelled due to lack of players. One notable difference was the lack of an FBI headquarters. Instead the top floors of the IDS Center served as the temporary FBI headquarters. Originally, the only accessible building was the IDS Center but slowly more buildings were given interiors, like the local Police Department.

Rebirth
Cxero gave a massive overhaul to the Apocálypsis map, adding the FBI HQ and many decorational buildings. The story was rebooted completely and a new wiki was formed. The Minneapolis plot finished and the server moved onto a new build set in Shanghai for the Mandate of Heaven chapter. This version proved far more popular and was followed by Zeitgeist.